Lose 10 Pounds or More: Training Plan

Your secret weapon if you want to break the double-digit barrier and lose 10 pounds--or more? Strength training. Adding resistance builds muscle and helps you burn more calories during (and after!) your workout, says Tom Holland, author of Beat the Gym. In fact, researchers found that women who did strength training increased their resting metabolic rate (the calories your body needs to get through the day) for as long as 16 hours post-exercise.

Do 10 reps of each move, going from one exercise to the next with no rest; then take a one-minute break. Do three circuits total. Follow this metabolism-revving, total-body routine two or three times a week.

To add to the burn and help you lose 10 pounds more quickly, do this routine in addition to this cardio workout, two times a week: Using your cardio of choice, warm up for eight minutes. Then, speed up to your comfortably hard pace and hold it steady for 10 to 15 minutes. Then slow back down and recover at a conversational pace for five minutes. Repeat one or two more times. Breezing through? Up your tempo time to 20-minute segments, and repeat two or three times.